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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25143427">tête-à-tête</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anyawen/pseuds/Anyawen'>Anyawen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Technomage [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>James Bond (Craig movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>007 Fest 2020, Dinner Conversation, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Magic, Q's cats - Freeform, pre-00Q, questions and answers, team00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:28:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>399</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25143427</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anyawen/pseuds/Anyawen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bond and Q have dinner, drinks, and  a discussion of Q’s magic. Also, there are cats.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James Bond &amp; Q</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Technomage [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779154</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>tête-à-tête</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bond was bemused to find himself in an overstuffed armchair, glass of scotch in his hand, and a Ragdoll cat named Smile in his lap. Dinner with Q had included comfortable banter and occasional flirting over Thai takeaway eaten in Q's flat. By unspoken agreement, they'd avoided conversational topics relating to work, and to magic, until now.</p><p>"You can put her down, if you like," Q said as he took a seat on the couch, a glass of white wine leftover from their dinner in his hand. A second cat -a dark tabby named Nod- jumped to sit on the arm rest next to him.</p><p>"I get the feeling she'd only come back again," Bond said, stroking the silky fur.</p><p>"You're probably right," Q agreed. "So. You have questions."</p><p>"A few, though I'll probably think of more."</p><p>"Japanese, then, next time."</p><p>"I'll keep that in mind," Bond said with a laugh, then cocked his head. "I'll start with the one I've already asked. Why don't you spell the equipment not to break? You certainly have a lot to say when it gets damaged."</p><p>“Something <i>always</i> breaks, and if I place too many constraints on what that something is allowed to be … well. Let’s just say that given the options, I’d rather lose the equipment than the agent wielding it.”</p><p>“Q. I didn’t know you cared.”</p><p>“Yes, you bloody well did,” Q replied, his mock severity belied by a smile. "I do object to agents breaking or losing gear through carelessness, or damaging it on purpose. I really do have to fight for my budget to keep you all in gadgets. And there are other costs involved that are pissed away with negligence and petulance."</p><p>"'Other costs' related to your magic?"</p><p>"Indeed."</p><p>"Personal costs?" Bond asked.</p><p>"At some level, yes. It's not particularly more draining than staying up for days coding, or pulling your arse out of the fire when an op goes tits-up, but it is draining nonetheless."</p><p>Bond saw the way Q's eyes flickered to the left as he spoke. He watched as the Quartermaster dragged his gaze back up to meet Bond's, lips quirked wryly as he realized what he'd done.</p><p>"All right, yes, it is more draining. It's bloody exhausting. But I've incorporated tech into the process of creating the spell, so once the initial work is done, it can be automated. Mostly."</p><p>"Tell me more."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As the original drabble for this series was 400 words, this and all other fics in the series will follow that format. Wordcount by wordcounter.io.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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